As the dust gradually settles from the much-advertised nationwide hunger protest, which was held from August 1 to 10, a former presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, will, now more than ever, fancy his chances of winning the presidential election come 2027.
The nationwide protest, which turned violent on the very first day and resulted in loss of life and property when angry Nigerians took to the streets, is perceived in many quarters to be an indicator of current President, Bola Tinubu’s waning popularity, brought about by the policies he implemented immediately after he took office.
The existential angst of many Nigerians, who say the policies are unfavourable and that the costs of living have skyrocketed, has therefore thrust Atiku, a perennial presidential candidate, into the reckoning.
And because there is now an open door to opportunity that could usher him into the Presidency in 2027, the Wazirin Adamawa, who will turn 78 in November, will be expected to walk through it with great panache.
Although a political scientist, Moyo Jaji, thinks otherwise. In his view, the protests did not open the door to the presidency in 2027 for Atiku.
Jaji said, “If anything at all, I can tell you that the protest did not change anything or open any door for Atiku.
“Because what they (protesters) are saying is what is known to everybody ab initio.
“But the fact still remains that what President Tinubu is trying to do is to tackle Nigeria’s problems head-on, unlike other Presidents before him.”
Jaji also said Tinubu sincerely wants to improve Nigeria’s condition and so no door could have been opened for Atiku.
He ended by saying that the challenges Nigeria is facing are as a result of years of bad governance, which did not start today.
At the start of the Fourth Republic, AtikuZwas Nigeria’s Vice President from 1999 to 2007. He was a deputy to former President, Olusegun Obasanjo. However, before the expiration of their tenure, the relationship between the two men had gone sour.
Many keen political observers have often insisted that the disintegration of Obasanjo and Atiku’s political union was due primarily to the latter not wanting to key into alleged plot by some National Assembly lawmakers to tinker with the constitution and make Obasanjo a three-term President.
The ambitious Atiku did not recover from the fallout with Obasanjo and the ensnaring bad blood between them would eventually become his albatross. And notwithstanding his status as the next in line to become President, he was not anointed by his then boss to become the Commander-in-Chief.
Atiku, who would later sojourn in the then opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, which metamorphosed into the All Progressives Congress, later pitched tent finally in 2017 with the PDP, the main opposition party now.
Notwithstanding, since his storied cross carpeting, he has been struggling to win the presidential race.
In the past three decades, too, Atiku has run, albeit unsuccessfully, for Nigeria’s highest political office, and even though on three separate occasions he failed to win his party’s presidential primary ticket, the February 25, 2023, poll was his sixth attempt at the presidency.
“Nigerians are better informed now. They know that Tinubu is performing and will win re-election in 2027. This is why no matter what Atiku says or does, he will still come up short in 2027. As for the northerners who carried Russian flags, they will vote for the APC in 2027”
Despite falling short of victory last year, the presidential election was a reminder of how close Atiku usually got to winning. However, like the proverbial cat with nine lives, he has vowed to soldier on with his march to a seemingly elusive Aso Rock villa.
Only a few months ago, Atiku was asked whether he would throw his hat into the ring in the 2027 presidential race, and he, always indefatigable in his pursuit of the presidency, answered, “God willing.”
Atiku, who equates his own run for president with that of former United States President, Abraham Lincoln who vied six times for political offices before he became President on his seventh attempt, added that he was good to go “as long as God gives me strength, good health, and long life.”
It seems lady luck is now smiling on Atiku. He has been growing more influential by the day and his attitudes to the hunger protests have lent credence to this.
Atiku was on the side of the protesters and championed their cause. He was on hand to remind distraught Nigerians that the constitution grants them the right to engage in peaceful protest.
When riots broke out in some parts of the country and security agents were constrained to use force for restoring law and order, Atiku was also quick to jog the memory of “service chiefs and other security commanders” about life after service.
“I wish to convey stern caution to the distinguished service chiefs and military commanders of Nigeria’s armed forces
“Those who authorise the use of lethal force against peaceful civilian protesters will be held responsible for committing crimes against humanity, even in the years following their retirement from service,” he said.
Atiku’s stance on the protests got the presidency worried and drew a swift response from Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, who urged the former Vice President to borrow a leaf from opposition figures in the United Kingdom, who rallied behind the government to condemn the riots in the country.
Atiku has however not spoken in a very matter-of-fact way about some protesters who were brandishing the flag of a foreign country during the violent protests.
In some parts of Northern Nigeria, some youths were seen waving the Russian flag and had even called on Vladimir Putin of Russia to intervene in effecting a change of government in Nigeria.
Atiku has so far not condemned the flag-waving protesters who abused their right to protest and as the police have made some arrests, which could act as a deterrent to the call for Putin’s involvement in Nigeria’s internal affairs, Atiku’s name may now be what is on the lips of the Northern youths.
A current affairs analyst, Ifiok Usanga, said that there was nothing wrong about Atiku speaking truth to power even though he is an opposition politician.
In Usanga’s assessment, politics is a game that should be played effectively
“I laugh at those who are condemning Atiku Abubakar. Listen, in politics, I believe that all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable.
“So, try to believe me when I tell you that there is nothing wrong about him speaking truth to power about the protests.
“Don’t you realise that politics is a game and should be played effectively? Didn’t those in power today lead a protest way back in 2012 when subsidy was removed?
“And after many years, didn’t one of them, the former Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, say that they were aware that the man in charge in 2012, Goodluck Jonathan, made the right decision that would benefit the economy but that they in the opposition only politicised the matter?
“And to your other question, I believe Atiku has shown plenty of commitment to the suffering Nigerian masses who have no voice of their own.
“They now appreciate him in the North like never before. And in 2027, his votes, especially in that region, will be better than what he got in 2023,” Usanga said.
Reacting to the view shared by Usanga, a political analyst, Tochukwu Amagula, said that no matter what the former Vice President said or did, he would come up short in the presidential election in 2027.
Amagula said if Atiku were the President, he would have also pleaded with Nigerians to suspend the protest and would have not spoken at all about the constitutional right to protest.
“No open door of political opportunity has been opened for Atiku because of the recent hunger protest. Anyone who believes so is living in la-la land.
“Nigerians are better informed now. They know that Tinubu is performing and will win re-election in 2027. This is why no matter what Atiku says or does, he will still come up short in 2027. As for the northerners who carried Russian flags, they will vote for the APC in 2027.
“And come to think of it, if Atiku were the President, would he have urged protesters on? Would he have said anything about constitutional rights?
“That is hypocrisy. But like I said, Nigerians know better now and will throw their weight behind Tinubu,” Amagula said.
